Read
Joshua 24:14-27
14 “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, if you deal falsely with your God.”
There
are some days, Lord, when I blame myself too much for the things I do not like
about the way my life is going, and there are other days when I blame myself
too little. I need more days when I see the
boundaries clearly. Help me, I pray, to
make today one of those days.
I
did not choose my parents; I did not choose my genes. I did not shape them; they have shaped
me. I did not choose my childhood
environment. I did not shape it; it
shaped me. My life, like every life, is
loaded with factors and forces I neither can escape nor control. They limit the range of my choices, and
affect the outcome of the choices I do make.
In deep and far-reaching ways, I live in a world I did not make. There is so much for which I am not
responsible, and now and then, I could use a gentle reminder of that.
Nevertheless,
far more often, Lord, I need your blunt, stern reminders that in all the issues
where the stakes are highest. I am the
maker of my own victories and my own defeats.
If I fail to become and remain a decent, faithful human being, it will
be no one's fault but mine.
¨ I can be honest.
If I am not, destiny will not be to blame; I will be.
¨ I can be faithful to my spouse, family, friends, co-workers,
community, and nation. If I am not, destiny will not be to blame; I will be.
¨ I can respect the sacredness of life. If I do not,
destiny will not be to blame; I will be.
¨ I can fully employ whatever abilities I have. If I do not, destiny will not be to blame; I
will be.
¨ I can raise above my self-centeredness enough to be
interested in other people and care about them.
If I do not, destiny will not be to blame; I will be.
¨ I can listen and respond to the longings of my heart
that points me toward you. If I do not,
destiny will not be to blame; I will be.
May today be a day when I take upon myself what is
mine to take.
Amen.
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